Lebanon is a country located in Asia. According to AbbreviationFinder, LB is the two-letter ISO code of Lebanon, and LBN is the three-letter country abbreviation for Lebanon.
Yearbook 1997
Lebanon. According to Countryaah, the national day of Lebanon is November 22. The Lebanon government continued to urge Israel to withdraw from southern Lebanon, which Israelis have been occupying since 1985. has evolved from a group of fanatical guerrillas to an army equipped with heavy conventional weapons. The military upgrades achieved success during the year, e.g. in September, when twelve Israeli elite soldiers were killed as they tried to capture a guerrilla base.
Even in the Beka valley in northern Lebanon, the situation was tense. During the 1975-90 civil war, the Beka Valley was a haven for criminals and guerrillas. The region flourished financially thanks to hashish cultivation, but since the government destroyed the cultivation, poverty has spread. In order to draw the government’s attention to the region’s economic problems, the former Hezbollah leader Sheikh Subhi Tufayli in July urged the population, among other things. to stop paying taxes and not to seek building permits.
In October, the Sheikh banned members of the country’s government and parliament from visiting the Baalbek and Hermel districts, prompting the government to order the military to take control of the area. The troops would stay for three months. In October, the human rights organization Amnesty International reported that the L.A. government had people arrested for political reasons. According to Amnesty, it was common for those arrested to be tortured, beaten or taken to neighboring Syria, which in practice controls Lebanon, to be imprisoned there. Lebanon’s government said the information in the report was false.
The Pope visited Beirut in May. It was his first visit to the Middle East. 300,000 people – a tenth of the country’s population – attended a fair in central Beirut.
1982 Israeli invasion
In June 82, the Israeli military launched the invasion of Lebanon in a combined operation from the ground, air and water. The cities of Tire and Saida were quickly occupied and Nabatié and Tripoli destroyed in bombings during the first stage of the operation that Israel called “Peace in Galilee”. Beirut was largely destroyed. Thousands of civilians fell. Bridges, oil lines, airports, hospitals, schools, large and small buildings, factories and museums were all blown up.
Another result of the invasion was the capture of 8,000 Palestinians and Lebanese. In miserable conditions, they were gathered in prison camps under suspicion of belonging to resistance movements. No less painful was the looting of the Center for Palestinian Studies by the military and agents from Mossad – the Israeli intelligence agency. The center’s material was the fruit of 17 years of study of Palestine’s history and culture by 80 scholars. It was now abducted on trucks of unknown destination.
Finally, the PLO was forced to withdraw from Beirut. The condition was that the evacuation should be carried out under international supervision. Soldiers from the United States, France and Italy provided the necessary protection and West Beirut’s people bid farewell to Palestinian partisans as heroes before departing for 7 different Arab countries.
1990 The peace process is underway
In October 1990, Syrian-backed forces launched an offensive against Aoun, thus taking advantage of the new situation that had arisen following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. Syria joined the anti-Iraqi coalition, preventing Aoun from gaining international support. After brief battles, he was beaten and had to seek asylum in France. In December, for the first time since the start of the civil war, a national unity government consisting of both the Lebanese Forces (Christian militias), the Amal militia (Shiites), the PSP (the Drusians) and the pro-Syrian parties was inaugurated.
On May 22, 91, the Presidents of Syria and Lebanon in Damascus signed a friendship, cooperation and coordination agreement. Syria recognized Lebanon as an independent and independent state. The agreement talked about Syrian-Lebanese coordination in the areas of military, security, culture and economy. It was ratified by a majority in the Lebanese parliament, but the government of Israel, the Falangist Party and the Lebanese Forces opposed the agreement, which they believed gave Syria control over internal Lebanese affairs.
In early July, 6,000 soldiers from the Lebanese army occupied the PLO controlled areas of the port city of Saida in the southern part of the country. The offensive forced the PLO to withdraw from its main operational base facing Israel. Yet, on the 7th of the same month, Israel ruled that it would not withdraw its occupying forces from the security zone.
- Shopareview: Offers climate information of Lebanon in Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, covering maximum and minimum temperature for each of 12 months. Also includes when is best time to visit this country.
August
Protest movement promises unity
August 30th
In Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, the center of the protest movement that has come to be known as the “October 17 revolution”, representatives of opposition groups and parties announce that they jointly want to support a plan for how to resolve Lebanon’s acute crises. Above all, they demand that the state system that builds religious groupings cease. They also state that they have names of people who must be given a role in the transformation of society.
New national pact on proposals
August 30th
President Aoun said in a televised speech ahead of Lebanon’s centenary that a secular state should be introduced and that a dialogue on system change is needed, in line with ideas for a new “national pact” put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron. “The time is ripe,” said 85-year-old Aoun, who, like Lebanon’s other political elite, has been accused of lacking contact with the country’s young population. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Shiite movement Hezbollah and allied with Aoun, strikes a conciliatory tone and says, without clarification, that he is open to suggestions. At the same time, the Berlin ambassador Mustapha Adib is emerging as the proposed new prime minister, in accordance with the constitution which states that the government should be led by a Sunni Muslim.
Price roofs and silo construction are in demand
August 30th
More than half of Lebanon’s population is at risk of food shortages as a result of the disaster in Beirut, according to ESCWA, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia. One conclusion is that the construction of silos for grain in the port of Beirut should be given priority in the reconstruction, another that the government must introduce a price cap on basic goods. 85 percent of the food consumed in Lebanon is imported. At the same time, badly damaged buildings have attracted interest from property developers with their sights set on fast cuts. The Ministry of Finance has banned the sale without official approval of culturally protected buildings.
Nearly 200 dead confirmed
August 29th
The number of deaths confirmed after the bombing in Beirut is 188, but at least seven people are still missing. Behind the tasks is cooperation between the army’s forces for national security and the Red Cross.
UN strength is reduced
August 28th
The UN Security Council is extending the UNIFIL peacekeeping operation on the Lebanese-Israeli border, but reducing the force from 15,000 to 13,000 men. In practice, the decision does not mean much, as the force currently consists of 10,500 men, according to diplomatic sources. The resolution calls on Lebanon to ensure that Unifil also has access to an area north of the “blue line” (the UN-designated border) where tunnels were found in 2019 that could be used for intrusion from Lebanon into Israeli territory. The tunnels have been attributed to Shiite militia Hezbollah. Unifil was established in 1978 and strengthened in connection with wars between the countries in 2006.
A conviction for Hariri murder in 2005
August 18
Salim Ayyash was convicted of the murder of veteran politician and businessman Rafiq al-Hariri in 2005. He is one of four people connected to the Hezbollah militia who have been indicted in a UN-backed special court in the Netherlands. The other three are acquitted. None of the four have been in court since Hezbollahhas refused to bring them to justice. Twenty-two people were killed in the suicide bombing, which was carried out in Beirut with the help of a powerful explosive device. A fifth suspect, the leader of Hezbollah’s armed branch, is believed to have been the mastermind behind the attack, but he was reported killed in Syria in 2016. Sunni Muslim Rafiq al-Hariri was a key figure in Lebanon after a 15-year civil war and was credited with much of the country’s. not least its economy, recovered from the devastation. His death was also significant, as the assassination contributed to growing popular opposition to the Syrian regime’s (linked to the Shiite Hezbollah militia) in Lebanon’s affairs. According to the court, however, there is no evidence that the regime in Syria or Hezbollah’s leadership was behind the act.
Military powers are expanded
August 13th
Adopts emergency laws that give the army increased powers; On August 5, the day after the disaster in Beirut, the government announced a two-week crisis. With the new powers, the military must maintain order and can restrict freedom of assembly, expression and the press, as well as arrest people. A single member of parliament opposes expanding military power in this way, but eight members have resigned before the vote and members of the Lebanese forces (led by former Maronite militia leader Samir Geagea) are not participating, reports L’Orient-Le Jour.
The government resigns
10th August
The government resigns, announces Prime Minister Diab. In a televised speech, in which he describes corruption in Lebanon as “bigger than the state”, he tries to describe himself as a victim of the system. The death toll after the disaster in Beirut is raised to over 200 by provincial governor Marwan Abboud. During two days of protests, outraged Beirut residents have stormed the country’s political elite, which is accused of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence. Anger has not been subdued by the fact that four ministers have already left the government, among them the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance. President Aoun has also, three days earlier, rejected the demands for an international inquiry.
Donor meeting for urgent needs
9th of August
At an international donors’ meeting hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, 250 million euros are promised for the upcoming operations for Beirut’s hard-pressed population. The UN estimates that EUR 117 million is needed for the next three months. The EU doubles its immediate disaster relief (see 6 August). An additional € 30 million will be used to help people in dire straits following the explosions. The money is directed to the efforts of UN agencies and NGOs, not to the Lebanese government.
Hospitals receive first aid
August 6th
The EU is releasing 33 million euros for emergency aid, mainly to hospitals in Beirut after the disaster. French President Emmanuel Macron visits the ruined port of Beirut and joins the call for an international inquiry. Mego Terzian, Lebanon – born chairman of French Doctors Without Borders, states that magazines where medicines and medical equipment have been stored are among those destroyed. Several hospitals in the center have been damaged, including Lebanon’s largest dialysis department. Among all the international aid that is on the way is an Italian hospital ship.
Port staff are investigated
5 August
A number of port officials in Beirut are placed under house arrest, and the next day it is announced that 16 people have been arrested. Their role in how the batch of explosive ammonium nitrate was handled in the port will be investigated. According to shipping sites, the cargo has been in the port since 2013, when it was unloaded from a ship under the Moldovan flag that had technical problems. The cargo was seized and the ship was banned from use. Eventually, the ship was abandoned by its owners, leading to litigation and leaving the matter in the hands of Lebanese authorities. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watchcalls for an independent inquiry, as they fear that an inquiry into the Lebanese judiciary will not be conducted with full transparency and credibility. The French prosecutor’s office is launching its own investigation into the injury of French citizens.
Offer of help from Israel
August 4th
Following the disaster in Beirut, Israel is offering humanitarian aid to Lebanon. The two countries have fought several wars and incidents at the border are reported on a regular basis, but through international channels, Israel offers help with medical equipment and receiving the injured for treatment. At the same time, emergency equipment, including field hospitals, is being flown in from other countries, including Kuwait, France and Jordan.
Explosive disaster in Beirut
August 4th
Well over 100 people lost their lives and several thousand were injured in Beirut when a warehouse filled with explosives exploded in the air. The shock wave from the larger of two explosions causes enormous devastation. People were buried in landslides or severely injured by shrapnel; the death toll has risen to about 140 after two days. Up to 300,000 people have lost their homes, says provincial governor Marwan Abboud. What was stored in the port stock was ammonium nitrate, which can be used both as a fertilizer in agriculture and as an explosive in, for example, the mining industry. An explosion can also trigger toxic gases. Three days of national mourning and two weeks of state of emergency are announced, while the people of Beirut in shock try to save the injured and locate relatives.
The Foreign Minister resigns in protest
August 3
Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti resigns in protest against the government’s inability to handle crises. If there is no will to reform, “the ship will collapse”, he says, alluding to the measures required by international lenders before they want to take the risk of lending money to Lebanon. Hitti will be replaced by Charbel Wahbe, former ambassador and adviser to President Aoun.